on purpose
Idioms-
Deliberately, intentionally, as in He left the photo out of the story on purpose . Shakespeare's use of this idiom was among the earliest; it appears in The Comedy of Errors (4:3): “On purpose shut the doors against his way.”
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accidentally on purpose . Seemingly accidentally but actually deliberately, as in She stepped on his foot accidentally on purpose . This generally jocular phrase was first recorded in 1862.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Rose lives in Tecopa, population 120, among people who’ve chosen the isolation, quietude, natural beauty and brutal conditions on purpose.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Somebody has done that. You don't type up a letter with someone's address on it, address it to the trust and send it. I feel like it was done on purpose," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
A recent study found that 38% of retirees have spent less than they wanted to, on purpose, just to keep their nest egg from shrinking.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
Even though Balogun had stepped on Tarik Muharemović’s leg, there was no indication he did it on purpose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
But I wasn’t being a cause-for-a-headache on purpose.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
